The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuers 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

A comet is coming to destroy Earth and a few hundred scientists with their children are going to travel to a new planet. Petra and her family are among the lucky ones chosen for the journey. The space voyage will take hundreds of years, so the passengers are put in pods to sleep. This will allow them to retain their current age and teach them new skills. When the ship reaches its destination the only remaining passengers of those that were put to sleep years ago are children and they find a very different society than when they left Earth. Petra the storyteller knows she and the other children must escape the menacing Collective and try to find any remaining people from Earth.

Sci-Fi is not my favorite genre of literature but I totally enjoyed “The Last Cuentista”. The mixture of old stories that Petra tells with the reality of the futuristic society that exists on the ship mesh beautifully together. The story is a pager turner keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Buy this book for your home library, both adults and children will not be able to put it down.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2022	Profanity: No
Publisher: Levine Querido	Violence: No
Age Level: 10-15 years	Sexual Content: No
AR Level: 5.0	Mature Themes: No
Pages: 320
Stars: 5 Awards: 2022 Newbery Medal

The Wheel On The School by Meindert DeJong 🟊🟊🟊

I tried so hard to read all of this children’s classic but after 100 pages I was done with it. Six schoolchildren are on a quest to bring back storks to their small Dutch fishing village. They are looking for a wagon wheel which supposedly is where storks like to build their nests. The story moves very slowly, and it was not that interesting. Maybe in 1955 it appealed to elementary school students, but it will not engage today’s children.


Published In: 1954
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.
Age Level: 8-12 years
AR Level: 4.7
Pages: 298
Stars: 3
Awards: 1955 Newbery Medal

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller 🟊🟊🟊

 

Lily and her family move in with her dying grandmother. Lily is desperate to find a way to save her. Lily encounters a magical tiger on the journey to her grandmother’s house. The tiger offers her a deal that will save her grandmother, will Lily take it?

The intermingling of a Korean folktale and a young girl’s struggle with life is wonderfully presented in this novel. Not only is Lily dealing with her dying grandmother, but she wants to be heard. By the end of the book Lily finds her voice and learns to accept the death of her grandmother. Parents be aware the older sister is in a same sex relationship, which is something I don’t want my 10-year-old grandson to read about. So, I will pass on this book. 

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2020	Profanity: None
Publisher: Random House	Violence: None
Age Level: 10-12 years	Sexual: LGBTQ Characters
AR Level: 4.1	Mature Themes: Death
Pages: 297
Stars: 3
Award: 2021 Newbery Medal

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

At first, I was skeptical of a book that features a boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard but by the end of the second chapter I was captivated. In the opening chapter the boy’s parents are killed and he escapes by wondering out of his bed and into the graveyard down the street. All the ghosts have so much to teach the boy called Nobody Owens, Bod for short. With the help of a half human, half ghost guardian Bod survives to adulthood. As he matures, he learns of a secret Society of “Jacks” that’s mission is to kill him, These are the same people that killed his parents. Will he escape a second time?

This book is a great adventure, with a well-developed plot and fascinating characters. All the quirky ghosts have wonderful personalities, and the books mystery keeps the reader turning the pages. This young adult book is going on the must-read list for my grandchildren.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2008	Profanity: None
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.	Violence: Murder
Age Level: 10-12 years	Sexual: None
AR Level: 5.1	Mature Themes: Supernatural
Pages: 312
Stars: 5 Awards: 2009 Newbery Medal

The View from Saturday by e.l. konigsburg 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

Four sixth-grade kids unexpectedly become friends over the course of the school year. The characters Noah, Nadia, Ethan and Julian are a bit quirky and all of them have issues and problems. Julian the most ostracized of the kids finds a unique way to bring all four of them together. Mrs. Olinski, their teacher, then picks them for the school’s Academic Bowl which helps solidify their friendship. As the children prepare for the competition and work on their friendship all four become confident and self-assured in themselves.

“The View from Saturday” is not for all middle schoolers it was written in the 90’s when everything moved at a slower pace and so does the book. However, if you can get your child to read the book the message of friendship will stay with them into adulthood. I read this book as an adult and appreciated the depth of the characters and their individual stories. I will be recommending it to my grandchildren.


Published In: 1996
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Inc.
Age Level: 11 + years
AR Level: 5.9
Pages: 176
Stars: 5
Award: 1997 Newbery Medal

Moon Over Manifest by Clara Vanderpool 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

The year is 1936 and Abilene Tucker’s father has decided to send her to the town of Manifest, where he spent some time in his youth. Abilene and her father have been riding the rails but after an accident that put Abilene’s life in danger her father knows that this way of life is too dangerous for a 12-year-old girl. When she arrives in Manifest, she finds a run-down town not the idyllic place her father told her about in his stories.

Abilene makes it a quest to find out more about her father and his life in Manifest. She never finds out much about him till the end of the book but does discover a town with a lot of secrets. “Moon Over Manifest” is not an easy read. There are a multitude of characters and lots of threads to follow. It is a good mystery, and the author keeps you guessing on which character is Abilene father. This is a book for the serious reader, there is not much humor, and its themes are more adult in nature than kid friendly.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2010	Profanity: None
Publisher: Delacorte Press	Violence: Murder
Age Level: 10-14 years	Sexual: None
AR Level: 5.3	Mature Themes:Betrayal, War, Alcohol
Pages: 351
Stars: 4 Award: 2011Newbery Medal

 

Number the Stars by Louis Lowry 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

The year is 1943 and in Copenhagen, Denmark the German troops are beginning to “relocate” the Jews. Annemarie Johansen’s best friend Ellen is Jewish and the rabbi at her synagogue has informed his congregation that the Nazis are coming for them. Annemarie’s family takes in Ellen, and they pretend that she is their daughter who died a few years earlier. As events become more dire for Ellen’s family Annemarie’s family plans to smuggle the Rosen’s out of Denmark and into Sweden.

The Courage and bravery that Annemarie’s family displays in the book is amazing. The question I always ask myself about the Holocaust is would I have the fearlessness to help, or would I sit back and watch? “Number the Stars” puts this question front and center. The suspense in the book is real along with the menacing actions of the Germans.

This book is most definitely on the must-read list for my grandchildren. With the passage of time, I hope that the horrors of the Holocaust are not forgotten. One way to keep the next generation aware is through books like “Number the Stars”.
                                                                                    
Published In: 1989
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Age Level: 9 -11 Years
AR Level: 4.5
Pages: 160
Stars: 5
Awards: 1990 Newbery Medal Winner

Sarah. Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

Anna and Caleb’s father, a widower, is looking for a wife. The Wittings live on the prairie in the late 19th century. Papa has put an advertisement in the newspaper and Sara Elisabeth Wheaton from Maine has agreed to visit the prairie family. Sarah arrives by train and writes to Papa that she “will wear a yellow bonnet. I am plain and tall.” As Sarah develops a relationship with the family they question if she will stay? Or does she miss the sea so much that she returns to Maine?

“Sarah, Plain and Tall” is a classic children’s book. The writing style of this historical fiction is simple and easy to read. The story is told from the point of view of Anna and Caleb. It is heartbreaking to read how much the children want Sarah to stay with them. They want both a mother and a wife for Papa so the family will sing again. This tender story is a must for the grandchildren.

Published In: Harper Trophy
Published:1987
Age Level: 8-10 years
AR Level: 3.4
Pages: 58
Stars: 5
Series: Sarah, Plain and Tall – 5 Books in the Series
Awards: 1986 Newbery Medal & 1986 O’Dell Award

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

Life was tough in the Depression-era 1930’s, but it was even tougher if you were a 10-year-old African American orphan. Bud, Not Buddy is living in the Home, which has been his residence on and off again since his mother died when he was six years old. Bud has also lived with various foster families, and none have worked out for him. At the start of the novel, he is being sent to a new family and as usual it ends in a disaster. Bud’s dream is to find his real father who he believes to be a famous Michigan band leader called Herman E. Calloway. Among his mother’s possessions was a series of flyers advertising the bands performances. Bud knows his mother would not have kept the flyers if they didn’t mean something to her. After the latest terrible foster home experience Bud runs away and decides it time to go find his father. 

The thought of a 10-year-old child traveling alone for more than 100 miles with no supervision or resources sends chills down my back. I don’t think in today’s world the outcome would have been as positives as it was for Bud. Bud is clever and determined and with the help of some good Samaritans along the way he does find Herman E. Calloway. The ending is a surprise and leaves the reader with a warm feeling even if it’s not Bud’s dream. This is a book that I am recommending to my grandchildren and hopefully they will like it as much as I did.  

Published In: 1999
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Age Level: 10-11 Years
AR Level: 5.0
Pages: 288
Stars: 5
Awards: 2000 Newbery Medal Winner, Coretta Scott King Award

Hello, Universe by Drin Entrada Kelly 🟌🟌🟌🟌

Four middle school children’s lives intersect when one of them, a bully plays a prank. The book takes place all in one day. The four kids are unique and very different. One is a deaf girl who loves nature. Another is a self-proclaimed psychic. Third is a boy who is the bully. Finally, a shy boy who is on the receiving end of the prank and gets trapped in a well. As a heroic rescue is performed to rescue him a friendship develops.

I am the mother of 3 boys and all of them loved playing sports as children. As adults they have become caring husbands and fathers. I am continually disappointed when authors make the bully character a boy and a child that likes sports. Overall, the book is engaging but please stop stereotyping sport-loving boys as bullies.

Published In: 2017
Publisher: Greenwillow
Age Level: 9-11 years
AR Level: 4.7
Pages: 313
Stars: 4
Awards: 2018 Newberry Medal